volumetric or spelunk

Despite the economic crisis and scaling back in the programmes and ambitions of pure research projects, like SETI and NASA, I think we are still experiencing a golden age of exploration—both in terms of new-found resourcefulness and legacy. At the same time as researchers prepare to penetrate the icy depths of Antarctic lakes isolated from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years, an advanced robotic embassy is probing the secrets of Mars and one veteran experiment, Voyager, is on the cusps of interstellar space, another relatively forgotten but enduring project is getting ready to observe the milestone of a quarter of a century.
Though not the longest-lived experiment under laboratory conditions (like those eternal incandescent light-bulbs or the slow drip of pitch) by any means, but hole bored near Windisch- esenbach in eastern Bavaria, among the deepest in the world at close to ten kilometers in depth and the only such feat of engineering undertaken for purely scientific purposes, was drilled in earnest from September of 1987 to 1995, at the convergence of two tectonic plates, and is still the subject of study and research. The site in the Oberpfalz was chosen for geologic reasons, the project called auf Deutsch das Kontinentales Tiefbohrprogramm der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, this area marking the sublimation of the ancient continental landmasses of Pangaea and Gondwanaland, and if not for a billion years of weathering and erosion, would boast the highest mountain range in the world. Scarcity of funding and more importantly underestimating how quickly temperature would rise—265 ° C already and short of the 10, 000 meter mark, put an end to the drilling operations. Teams of geologists have continued to conduct research in the twelve years since the boring was halted, but initially many of the villagers were opposed to have such an operation in their backyard—fearful of noxious gasses or infernal visitors. Considering that even barely penetrated this frontier just underfoot—even at this great depth, still only a fraction through the earth’s crust—and the volume of the world is much greater than its surface, there is a lot of potential for the imagination and to unearth all the treasures and bizarre secrets of Jules Verne’s journey to the centre of the Earth.

elucidation

Der Spiegel’s English language site has an interesting brief (that I could relate to) on the challenge faced by media outlets in finding fresh visual metaphors to illustrate the economic crisis in the eurozone. The standard seems to be subjecting the banners and mascots of statehood and national identity to various forms of torture and peril and most definitely showing euro coins in all denominations defaced and distressed.

Some subjects and themes, as determined by mood, rumour and the forecast, are highly popular. There are certainly a lot of creative and emboldened dioramas out there that demonstrate photographic ingenuity and that sometimes verge on silliness and hyperbole and sometimes a bit mean-spirited. I especially feel sorry for the poor stunt-money that’s afforded no respect.

spoiler-alert

Laurels to the heuristically outstanding Super Punch for discovering the series of funny and honest—transparent, book titles from author, comedian and critic Dan Wilbur. There are dozens more examples on Mr. Wilbur’s blog. 

By lampooning the classics of literature, I think, the talents behind this collection might hope to cause readers to think about what they aren’t reading right now but how sustaining and indulgent—effective and lasting, old reading is, with these covers especially.

What other titles can you think of that would make good candidates for this same treatment?  I don’t know, however, if I would put Holden Caulfield’s story in the same category as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but I guess that is part of the joke.

gabriel blow your horn

The Way-Back Machine at the Retronaut featured some illuminated illustrations dating from the 10th century of the Spanish theologian Beatus of Liébana’s Commentary on the Apocalypse.

It was the buggy, Picasso-esque figures that initially cause my attention in this particular rendering from the monastery at El Escoria. Perhaps the Spanish painter was influenced by such artwork on this manuscript. What is more interesting deeper within this study, however, is the de-symbolism, the stripping of allegory, behind the pictures. Contrary to popular historical context that makes fables out the oppressors of the day, reading the characters of Revelations as the Roman Empire, Gnostics, or, contemporaneously with Beatus’ writing, as the Muslims of then Islamic Spain, there is no mention of mistreatment or persecution and no topical interpretation of the biblical text. Rather than targeting heretics or people of another religious background for blame, the treatment instead suggests that the real nightmarish fiends represent elements within the established Christian community, holy-rollers, that profess one thing but really use the Church to advance their own interests. That’s a very modern technique from a classic source as well.

castle week: berlin-brandenburg

Throughout the ages and through to the present, Berlin as the seat of different ideologues and governments has become absolutely crowded with historic buildings and courtiers, though venue and use has evolved over the years. The grand city palace of Berlin was lost during World War II and the rubble has cleared away a long time ago, but there are long-term plans to rebuild the structure on the still vacant lot over the next decade.  Such a project, I think, would bring the other fine and intact buildings of the city into sharper focus.

Politics and intrigue are ever stifling things, and in a great tradition of seeking refuge from the demands of the court and escaping for quiet and reflection, philosopher king of the Prussians, Fredrick the Great, designed and commissioned his retreat, San Souci (French for Without Worries) among the vineyards outside of Potsdam.

A patron of the arts and sciences and a man of letters, under the advice of his long time friend and confident, Voltaire, he promoted reforms in bureaucracy and governance (including such revolutionary ideas separation of church and state and personal liberties) and followed the French philosopher’s maxims about immersing oneself in nature—though the wine business never really took hold. While enjoying the king’s hospitality at San Souci, Voltaire penned probably the first work in the genre of science fiction, with his short-story, Micromegas.

Fredrick was a sensitive soul and never, I think, really aspired to be the military strategists that he became known as. Scholar and polyglot as well as visionary and diplomat, he left a substantial legacy that’s not only in his distinctive architectural penchant (found in many monuments populating Berlin and Brandenburg) but in many intangible footnotes of the age of Enlightenment.

doctor pangloss, I presume

The ever engrossing and a sure bet for a good take-away to ruminate on, Boing Boing, recently presented two brief and chilling tracts about the echo chamber of communication and some dismal reflections on the realities draped by economic cheerleading. Boy, this was some bleak stuff, presented in a way that was hard to refute or not be disheartened.

Both made some arresting assertions that only seemed truer on dissection, memorable and ready to be unpacked or walked back like the collection of pensées. Without being shrill or dogmatic, the first article offered the axiom that one's smart phone is basically a tracking device that allows one to place calls. I only ever use that app that allows one to hear and speak to people over any given distance and that other app that allows one to see the time of day, but the interview goes on to illustrate what systems are already in place to limn a complete dossier of anyone and how the idea that one has nothing to hide is smug and irresponsible, since communications are interconnected and false assumptions are made and errant words can unintentionally become artillery for anyone in our network. The second article is a virtual bucket-list of 21 facts from economist Ian Welsh that bespeak trembling and revolution. Among other truths, austerity is defined as the opportunity for venture-capitalists to acquire assets usually not up for sale, that wage-earners are beholden to the company store and are unlikely to escape (although that disbelief is what sustains even the worst of markets) and that resistance is futile for those regimes who would dare oppose the conditions levied on the public by corporate interests. Both are definitely worth the read, despite the discomfort and disillusion that may result.

castle week: rheinland-pfalz

Castle Week happened to coincide with the beginning of Wikipedia’s month long call for sub- missions of landmarks, monuments and memorials. While I do not think anything looked at and looked after as a castle is something novel and undiscovered, there is always something to learn and maybe by sharing some of things I’ve seen can inspire a little deeper investigation. Erecting and maintaining a castle, even while not under constant siege, was a very, very expensive prospect, especially in medieval times before the sophistication of trade and monetary instruments in the Renaissance.

Most of the landed-gentry only had a single settlement to their name and did not live in much fancier quarters than their tenant-farmers. Sometimes, like with the gorgeous Burg Eltz along the Moselle river, flowing through Germany and France, different branches of one noble family combined their resources to build a shared residence and defensive fortification. Three lines of the same family (and descendants of the same founding members at that) live in separate sections of the castle nestled in the wine-growing valley on the road to Trier. At the other end of the Land, separated from its neighbouring state capital by the river Rhein, the ancient city of Mainz hosts an array of fine architecture.

One particularly interesting structure is Ostein Court (Osteiner Hof). This mansion was originally built as residence for the prince-elector of Mainz and his descendants. The unrest and upheaval of the French Revolution and subsequent Franco-Prussian War, however, meant its owners did not get to enjoy it for long. French forces occupied the Rhineland-Pfalz side of the Rhine and the court became the administrative building of the newly appropriated land. Once Prussian forces retook the German territories (and grabbed more than what they had lost with the conquest of Alsace-Lorraine), the building served as a military headquarters under various commands, mostly uninterrupted until the present. Just in the foreground, there is the elaborate and nine-metre high Fastnachtsbrunnen (the fountain of the so-called fifth season, Carnival) commemorating the yearly proclamation on 11. November at 11:11 of the beginning of the local revelry and abandon lasting forty days until Lent. Long before the fountain was dedicated, another announcement came from the same balcony to the people of Mainz, the declaration of war in 1914. It’s kind of bittersweet that the decree of party-time echoes from the same location and at the same exact time the armistice of the fighting is observed.

7/11 oder verkaufsverbot

Legal augurers, deciding that there is too much creeping in shop opening hours in Bavaria and creative license to skirt the limitations, have reinterpreted the exceptions granted to petrol-stations to expressly apply only to car and truck drivers and not pedestrians who are interested in using the attached convenience stores. Some people are quite disgruntled with the suggestion that the passing shopper would not be allowed to make purchases after eight o’clock in the p.m., the latest hour that retail stores and markets are traditionally allowed to remain open.

There are a few gas stations here in this rather rural area open around the clock (with only a nighttime register) and some fast food establishment whose drive-thru window is in operation twenty-three hours a day, which seems like another assault against people moving under their own power, but before this bit of news, I had not given the idea any thought and took it for granted that in some place, somewhere would be open. Nowadays, I’ve only ever bought the odd pack of cigarettes or cup of coffee from a gas-station, thinking the inflated costs a sign of the unholy alliance between the oil industry and food packagers and the price one pays for not planning ahead—though I know for some, the convenience is a necessity, like for those who work themselves at the stores and restaurants and Tankstelle until late. The mark-up on baby-food, beer and pizza, I suppose, is not so great as the margin on gasoline—nor as variable, but should they lose this other source of income, attendants will lose jobs. Further, people in the tourism industry say enforcing such restrictions will hurt Bavaria’s reputation as a functional and well-situation vacation destination, as holiday-makers will be frustrated with not being able to walk into a shoppette at all hours. I don’t know how legislators will move forward with this proposal and I am not sure what consequences it would have should it come into force but I does seem strange to ration purchases to someone with a motorized means of transport. Maybe it won’t only be underage kids hanging on someone with an ID in the parking lot for a favour but locals too on anyone driving a car.